Department for Transport

Railways: South East

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to increase the capacity, and (2)to reduce journey times, of rail services between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour stations.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary to revise the timetable and services operated across the SWR network. The current mainline timetable provides 89% of the number of AM peak seats at Waterloo (0700-0959) compared with the timetable pre-COVID. SWR continue to monitor customer numbers closely and have plans in place to increase the level of capacity or service provision further as passenger demand returns. With current levels of demand, there remains spare socially-distanced capacity into Waterloo in the AM peak. Journey times on the Waterloo-Portsmouth service remain broadly unchanged.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government when a decision will be made on whether HS2 is going to terminate at Euston station or Old Oak Common.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The HS2 Phase One scheme, as approved by Parliament and which received Royal Assent in 2017, includes the London HS2 terminus station at Euston, along with a complimentary interchange station at Old Oak Common. More recently, the Oakervee Review considered the use of Old Oak Common as the London terminus, but concluded that the Government should continue with the section of route from Old Oak Common to Euston, on the basis that Euston station is an important part of realising the benefits of HS2. There are no plans to change location of the London HS2 terminus station from Euston, although Old Oak Common will act as the temporary London terminus for HS2 services until Euston station is complete.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be (1) the top speed, and (2) the average speed, of HS2 (a) between London and Birmingham, and (b) between Birmingham and Crewe.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The top speed on both the London to West Midlands and West Midlands to Crewe sections of HS2 will be 225mph (360km/h). Once HS2 Phase 1 opens in full, HS2 trains will be able to make the 109-mile journey from London Euston to Birmingham Curzon St in 49 minutes, including stops at Old Oak Common and Birmingham Interchange. Excluding the 2 minutes that the train is stopped for passengers to board at each station, this represents an average speed of 145mph. Once HS2 Phase 2a opens, HS2 trains will be able to make the 58-mile non-stop journey from Birmingham Interchange to Crewe in 20 minutes, representing an average speed of 174mph.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government at which stations passengers will be able to board (1) between London and Birmingham, and (2) between Birmingham and Crewe,when HS2 is completed.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Phase One of HS2 will see a new high speed railway line constructed from Birmingham to London which will run on 140 miles of dedicated track. Four new HS2 passenger stations will be included on the route: London Euston, Old Oak Common (West London), Interchange in Solihull and Birmingham Curzon Street. Phase 2a will provide 36 miles of dedicated track to Crewe. In addition, passengers will be able to board HS2 services at Stafford and Stoke, via the existing West Coast Main Line.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: West Coast Railway Line

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential increase in capacity for commuter services on the West Coast Main Line south of Northampton after the introduction of HS2.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Once HS2 Phase 1 opens, HS2 services will run on dedicated infrastructure between London and the West Midlands, replacing long distance services that currently run on the West Coast Main Line. This will release capacity for additional services, which could include a mixture of commuter, semi-fast, regional and freight trains. No decisions have yet been made as to the train service that will operate on the West Coast Main Line once HS2 opens. The Department for Transport has appointed West Coast Partnership Development to analyse passenger demand on the route and present options for train service patterns that best allow this demand to be met. The Secretary of State will decide on the preferred option, once it has been subject to consultation, nearer to the time that HS2 opens.

Department for Education

Vocational Guidance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Careers and Enterprise Company Careers education in England's schools and colleges 2020, published on 12 November; and what plans they have to expand Careers Hubs.

Baroness Berridge: The ‘Careers Education in England’s schools and colleges 2020’ report, published on 12 November by The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), is a comprehensive assessment of performance across the last 5 years. The report recognises that after years of challenge, government investment is supporting national improvement and making a difference to young people, especially in disadvantaged areas.The report reviews the position since government established the CEC in 2014 and launched a Careers Strategy in 2017. We expanded the remit of the CEC to support schools and colleges to improve their careers programmes in line with the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. The benchmarks provide us with a shared vision of what good quality careers guidance for young people looks like.The report highlights how the 2017 Careers strategy has created real momentum with schools, colleges, employers and careers professionals coming together to improve support for young people. From a standing start in 2015 there are now more than 2,265 schools and colleges (45%) in Careers Hubs, 3,600 business professionals are working as Enterprise Advisers with schools and colleges and Careers Leader roles have been developed in schools and colleges and are becoming a recognised profession.The report shows that schools and colleges have made sustained progress over the last 5 years. Improvement is evident on every dimension of careers support against each benchmark. Progress has accelerated through the creation of Careers Hubs by 92 per cent (from achieving 2.5 to 4.8 Benchmarks) in 2 years. Early investment in careers programmes to scale up activities in disadvantaged ‘cold spots’ has meant that areas like Blackpool and Burnley in Lancashire and Darlington and Stockton in Tees Valley now rank amongst the highest performing in the country for careers provision.The COVID-19 outbreak has created huge challenges for the economy, for education and for future opportunities for young people. Careers guidance has an important role to play in our recovery. We have clear evidence and knowledge of what works well in careers support for young people and our ambition is to continue building on that. We will say more about our future plans in the forthcoming further education White Paper.

Independent Schools Council

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Independent Schools Council’s Partnership Week 2020.

Baroness Berridge: We are delighted to celebrate the success of cross-sector partnerships and welcome the hard work that has gone into promoting this work across our country by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and others such as the Schools Together Group.The department continues to encourage and support new partnerships between independent and state-funded schools. In line with the department’s joint understanding with the ISC, we want to see more schools forming impactful and mutually beneficial collaborations across the areas of curriculum development, teaching quality, governance and leadership, and other targeted forms of school improvement.As disruptive as COVID-19 has been, we hope that more schools will see the opportunity to work together to find solutions to common problems and to build a more collaborative system. Partnerships Week and other forms of promotion, such as the ISC’s recently published Celebrating Partnerships booklet, are key to ensuring that more schools hear about the good work already happening in this field and encourage more to join.

Literacy

Baroness Rebuck: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on 4 November (HC Deb, col 318),whether literacy is intended to be a part of the tutoring programme; and if so, (1)what plans they have to survey literacy levels across all age groups, (2) whether the tutoring will be available to all schools across England, and (3) what steps they are taking to ensure that adequate funding is available for that programme.

Baroness Berridge: We are providing £1 billion of catch-up support to schools to help make up for lost learning. All schools with pupils aged 5-16 are receiving their share of the £650 million catch-up premium, which can be used to prioritise support for all pupils. We are spending up to £350 million on the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). The NTP will provide additional, targeted support to disadvantaged children and young people in schools across England who need the most help to catch-up.The NTP for 5-16 years olds went live on 2 November. The NTP offers tuition support for a range of curriculum subjects, including English, at both primary and secondary level. It is important that decisions about what support pupils receive are made locally by those who understand their needs. As such, teachers use their professional judgement to determine which pupils would most benefit from NTP support based on their need. Further information about the launch of the NTP is available here: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/news/national-tutoring-programme-launches-in-schools.Additionally, the NTP is supporting an oral language programme for reception-aged children. Any state-funded school with a reception class was able to register their interest in delivering the programme, with priority given to those schools with the highest levels of disadvantage (percentage of free school meals). Participating schools will begin delivery in January 2021. Further information about the oral language programme is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/neli/.We are also making funding available to school sixth forms, colleges, and all other 16-19 providers to offer support small group tuition for lower attaining 16-19 year olds, in English, maths, and other courses where learning has been disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Further information about this is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-16-to-19-tuition-fund.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their announcement that they have secured five million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, whether that contracthas any conditions relating (1) to the number of doses, and (2) to the date of delivery; and whether there are any material conditions that could affect availability of that vaccine.

Lord Callanan: We are not able to disclose details of this agreement because of the commercially confidential nature of the contracts between the Government and vaccine manufacturers while commercial negotiations are ongoing.

Business: European Economic Area

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation by the Law Society and the Bar Council in its joint paper Immigration priorities for the legal services sector, published in November, that they should seek to "secure an EU-level treaty commitment to Permitted Paid Engagements throughout the entire period of a business visit and in all areas of legal activity".

Lord Callanan: As part of the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the EU, it is our intention to agree reciprocal measures on permitted activities for short-term business visitors. We want to build on the EU’s precedents with Japan and Canada, where possible and to our mutual benefit. The purpose would be to ‘lock in’ a list of permitted activities that both Parties must allow, without requiring a work permit. As is normal in EU trade agreements, some Member States may choose to table exceptions to this list, known as ‘reservations.’ Both Parties can, in practice, allow short-term business visitors to carry out more activities than those committed to in an FTA – and this is at the discretion of each of the immigration systems in question. Whether these activities are permitted visa-free is a matter for each individual Member State and the UK respectively. The EU has not previously agreed with any of its trade partners a route for short-term business visitors to carry out paid or unpaid activities specific to legal professionals, preferring instead to adhere to its precedents on short-term business visitors. After the transition period ends, for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, the EU has legislated so that UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to and within the Schengen Area to undertake a limited range of activities, such as attending business meetings. The types of activities allowed will differ by Member State, and UK nationals should check with their host state before travelling whether the activity they are travelling for requires a visa and/or work permit. In the UK, EU legal professionals will be able to perform some activities as visitors without the need for a visa. These activities are detailed further on the GOV.UK website.

Postal Services: Care Homes

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Royal Mail Group about the potential to mirror the decision of An Post in Ireland to deliver post for free to care homes.

Lord Callanan: Ministers have regular discussions with stakeholders on a number of issues. Any decision to deliver mail to care homes free of charge would be a matter for Royal Mail, a private company.

Shops: Publications

Baroness Rebuck: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have toinclude bookshops on the lists of businesses permitted to remain open in all areas subject to restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic should tiers of restrictions be reintroduced from 2 December.

Lord Callanan: The current restrictions will expire on 2 December, and our intention is to return to?a system of?local and regional restrictions.?We will set out what this means for retailers and other businesses as soon as possible.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Walney: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatsteps they are takingto support immunocompromised people who will not be able to benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine.

Lord Bethell: The Government is exploring all avenues available to us, to ensure that a treatment for COVID-19 is found. Treatments containing COVID-19 neutralising antibodies have been secured from AstraZenaca to support immunocompromised people who will not be able to benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine. The antibody treatment currently being developed by AstraZeneca is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies and has the potential to be given as a preventative option for people exposed to the virus, and to treat and prevent disease progression in patients already infected by the virus if successful. ?

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Lord Walney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have topublish in full the modelling and assumptions that informed the Winter scenarios from early working analysis England:daily deaths if no changes in policy or behaviourslide,publicised on 31 October.

Lord Walney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish in full the modelling and assumptions informing the Scientific Pandemic Influenza modelling group (SPI-M) medium term projection for the next six weeks, publicised on 31 October.

Lord Bethell: The Chief Medical Officer’s presentation of 31 October and the accompanying modelling has been published online at GOV.UK. A copy of the presentation is attached.Slides to accompany Covid-19 Press Conference (pdf, 2025.5KB)

General Practitioners: Interpreters

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have provided guidanceto GP practices about the responsibility to provide personal protect equipment to public service interpreters who are needed for face-to-face patient appointments; and if not, what plans they have to provide such guidance immediately.

Lord Bethell: We expect personal protective equipment (PPE) to be made available for interpreters working across any healthcare setting, including in general practice, when delivering face to face services. Public Health England publish extensive guidance on infection prevention and control which sets out the PPE that should be used when providing clinical/personal care. The standard operating procedures issued to general practice reference this guidance and also sets out additional guidance on the provision of services to people requiring interpreters and/or translation provision.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to undertake public consultation on the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to different age groups and other distinct population groups.

Lord Bethell: There are no plans to undertake a public consultation on the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to different age groups and other district population groups.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have procured any refrigeration devices for GP surgeries to support the administration ofthe Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for whichthey have placed purchase orders.

Lord Bethell: National preparations for storage of COVID-19 vaccines at the required temperatures continue to be made by Public Health England to support a national COVID-19 vaccination programme.NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to ensure that appropriate freezer and refrigeration capacity is in place to maintain the required cold-chain for COVID-19 vaccination deployment across England. NHS England and NHS Improvement are using the latest available COVID-19 vaccination characteristic and supply information to model the required cold chain capacity and working with suppliers to secure additional freezers and fridges as needed. NHS England and NHS Improvement have taken early steps, and are continuing to work to secure these resources, recognising the likely global competing demand for items.

Protective Clothing: Contracts

Lord Strasburger: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contracts they have placed in 2020, and with whom, for the purchase of facemasks for use by health workers; and what was the cost per unit for each type of facemask under each such contract.

Lord Bethell: Three hundred and seventy contracts have been awarded by the Department for the supply of all types of personal protective equipment (PPE). The published Contract Award Notices contain details on the different types of PPE ordered against each contract, information which is not collated centrally prior to publication, as well as the name of the supplier. Purchase orders have been raised against these contracts for over six billion facemasks which are in the process of being delivered to the United Kingdom or have already arrived and are then quality checked at our UK warehouses before being distributed to the frontline.Information on the unit price of PPE ordered under each contract is considered commercially confidential.

Protective Clothing: Procurement

Lord Strasburger: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a list of all companies who were contracted to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) as a result of the high-priority lane used to assess and process potential PPE procurement leads; if so, (1) when, and (2) to include (a) the name of the person who recommended the company for the process, (b) each contract awarded to each company, and (c) the value of each such contract; and if not, why not.

Lord Bethell: We do not intend to publish the list of suppliers who were awarded personal protective equipment contracts after having had their offers reviewed with more urgency as there may be associated commercial implications.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the process for referral to the high-priority lane used to assess and process potential personal protective equipment procurement leads; who was involved in recommending potential suppliers for that process; and which Departments made referrals.

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any of the three contracts given to Hotel Logistics Ltd for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) were awarded via the high-priority lane used to assess and process potential PPE procurement leads.

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) financial, and (2) company, due diligence was carried out on Hotel Logistics Ltd before it was awarded its first contract for COVID-19 related personal protective equipment; and what rating and funding resulted from any such due diligence checks.

Lord Bethell: The Government issued a public call to action to support the increased requirements of personal protective equipment (PPE). This resulted in over 15,000 suppliers offering their help and support. The cross-Government PPE team of officials considered that leads referred by Government officials, Ministerial private offices, Parliamentarians, senior National Health Service staff and other health professionals were likely to be the more credible and needed to be initially reviewed with more urgency. This was widely advertised across Government as a way of more quickly triaging offers of support. This was commonly referred to as a ‘priority’ or ‘VIP’ channel. At the point of being prioritised these offers went into the same due diligence, technical assurance, closing or contract negotiation and contract award process as all the other offers. Approximately one in ten suppliers processed through this channel - 47 out of 493 - obtained contracts. We do not intend to publish the list of these suppliers as there may be associated commercial implications. As stated, Hotel Logistics Ltd was assessed in exactly the same way in terms of the due diligence and contract negotiations process as all other suppliers before being awarded contracts for the supply of PPE.

Intensive Care: Older People

Baroness Stroud: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that a triage tool has been used to deny elderly patients access to intensive care during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what guidance, if any, they circulated to hospitals about the use of any such tool.

Lord Bethell: Claims that frail and elderly patients were denied care in wave one of the coronavirus pandemic, in part because of a triage tool which was developed for use if the National Health Service was overwhelmed, are categorically untrue. Guidance to help clinicians make rational, evidence-based decisions in the event of intensive care units being overwhelmed was commissioned by NHS England’s National Medical Director and the four United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers but work was halted when it became clear the NHS would not be overwhelmed.

Pestfix: Protective Clothing

Lord Strasburger: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to Question for Written Answer HL5806, tabled on 16 June and due for answer on 30 June, how many contracts they have entered into with Pestfix Ltd; on what dates those contracts were entered into; and when they will publish the contract award notices.

Lord Bethell: The Department has raised  11 purchase orders  to PestFix Ltd which relate to seven contracts. One Contract Award Notice has been published which shows that the contract was awarded on 13 April 2020. The other Contract Award Notices will be published shortly. These will contain the dates of the contract award which, as with all the information to be published, is subject to a validation process.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will establish the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they will allocate annually to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and what proportion of such funding will be given to each of the devolved administrations.

Lord Greenhalgh: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK for people and places.Funding for the UKSPF will ramp up so that total domestic UK-wide funding will at least match receipts from EU structural funds. Its funding profile will be set out at the next Spending Review.To help local areas prepare over 2021-22 for the introduction of the UKSPF, the Government will provide additional funding to support our communities to pilot programmes and new approaches. Further details will be published in the new year.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Cornwall

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will announce details of the Shared Prosperity Fund arrangements for Cornwall before the end of the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU.

Lord Greenhalgh: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK for people and places.Funding for the UKSPF will ramp up so that total domestic UK-wide funding will at least match receipts from EU structural funds.To help local areas prepare over 2021-22 for the introduction of the UKSPF, the Government will provide additional funding to support our communities to pilot programmes and new approaches. Further details will be published in the new year.

Ministry of Justice

Remand in Custody: Females

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what proportion of, women remanded in custody at (a) a magistrates' court, and (b) a Crown Court, did not subsequently receive an immediate custodial sentence in each of the last five years.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The number and proportion of women remanded in custody at each court who did not receive a custodial sentence in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table. The Ministry of Justice publishes information on remands and sentencing outcomes by sex and court, currently up to December 2019: Magistrates’ court remands: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888658/remands-magistrates-court-tool-2019.xlsx Crown Court remands: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888657/remands-crown-court-tool-2019.xlsxTable (xlsx, 11.5KB)

Prisoners: Suicide

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork cases have been opened in each of the last five years.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) is used in prisons to support people at risk of suicide and self-harm. Due to a current technical issue with extracting previous ACCT data from the system we are unable to provide figures on how many ACCT documents were opened in each of the last five years. We are working to resolve this issue and will write to you once we have the data available.The number of people managed by ACCT fluctuates daily, but data for 2020 has shown that an average of around 2,000 prisoners have been assessed as being at risk and are being supported through ACCT on any given day.

Prison Estate Transformation Programme

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of the Prison Estate Transformation Programme.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Prison Estate Transformation Programme (PETP) was set up in 2016 and intended to build 10,000 ‘new for old’ prison places, by addressing systematic challenges in the right supply and drivers of poor decency and safety across the prison estate, through reconfiguring the estate and providing state of the art, fit for purpose places that would have enabled closure of our oldest and least efficient prisons.Due to pressures on the Ministry of Justice’s resource budget in March 2018, Ministers made a clear and conscious prioritisation decision not to deliver the PETP in full, removing c.6,500 places from the programme. The landscape is very different now. The Prime Minister has made clear his focus on tackling crime and delivering this is a major part of that reform. In Summer 2019, the PETP was retired and superseded by a new investment of up to £2.5 billion in a programme to create 10,000 additional prison places.The PETP delivered a range of good outcomes, many of which have been influential in supporting the delivery of the new 10,000 additional prison place programme. The PETP:Demolished two prisons that were not-fit for purpose and began construction of two 1,680 place resettlement prisons in their place, namely the former HMP Wellingborough (now HMP Five Wells) in Northamptonshire and the former HMYOI Glen Parva in Leicestershire. The new houseblock at HMP Stocken opened in June 2019 and the construction of the new prisons at HMP Five Wells and at Glen Parva are due to complete in late 2021 and early 2023 respectively. The PETP also secured outline planning permission for a third prison, the first prison to be built as part of the 10,000 additional prison places, at Full Sutton in Yorkshire.Developed an innovative design for a Cat C resettlement prison following consultation with a multitude of experts in the criminal justice system, which is the baseline for our new prisons.Created the Prison Operator Services Framework, increasing the diversity and resilience of the custodial services market in England and Wales, by creating a pool of prison operators who can provide high quality, value for money, custodial and maintenance services and enable us to effectively and efficiently manage a pipeline of competition for the potential operation of new prisons and private prisons whose PFI contract is soon to expire. The first mini-competition for the operation of HMP Five Wells has been successful and we are beginning mobilisation with the successful framework operator.Commenced a programme for the reconfiguration of 24 prisons in the male prison estate (in the North East, South West and Wales) which have gone live introducing the new offender flows which underpin the offender management in custody model. Changed the function of three Local prisons to provide approx. 1,200 much needed Cat C trainer and resettlement places (Holme House), and approx. 1,300 Cat B trainer places (Woodhill and Manchester).Closed the former HMP and YOI Holloway site and sold it with a receipt of £81.5m. The total income from all PETP sales was £104 million.Created three Models for Operational Delivery (MODs) which provided best practice tool kits to support Governors in creating purposeful regimes for Reception, Trainer and Resettlement prisoners. Four specialist MODs (for men convicted of sexual offences, foreign national offenders, older prisoners and young adults) were also published.Seven video conferencing centres (VCCs) were installed in prisons. Lessons learned from the PETP are at the heart of our new 10,000 additional prison place programme. These places will be delivered through a combination of four new prison builds, and the expansion and refurbishment of the current estate. The 10,000 places are additional to the c.3,500 places we have previously committed to at HMP Five Wells, Glen Parva, and at HMP Stocken.

Prisoners: Older People

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) male, and (2) female, prisoners in England and Wales are aged 80 or over.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: As at 30th September 2020, there were 311 male prisoners and 4 female prisoners aged 80 or over in England and Wales.These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Courts: Coronavirus

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to facilitatein-person court hearings in line with guidance in place during the COVID-19 pandemic; and if so, (1) how, (2) what will be the process for requesting an in-person hearing, and (3) what steps they will take to make relevant bodies aware that safe facilitiescan be provided.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: HMCTS has in place a range of safety measures and controls, developed in line with and validated against, relevant public health standards to ensure court and tribunal buildings are Covid secure. This has enabled HMCTS to deliver its vital public services, including running in-person hearings, throughout the period affected by pandemic-related restrictions.The framework of measures developed and implemented to ensure Covid-related risks are appropriately managed and controlled is set out in the HMCTS Organisational Risk Assessment . Among the measures embedded across the court and tribunal estate are significantly enhanced cleaning regimes, the provision of washing facilities and sanitiser throughout buildings for users as well as staff and judiciary, social distancing measures implemented, and a requirement for face coverings in all public and communal areas.The requirement for social distancing inevitably has had an impact on the capacity to run physical hearings across the court and tribunal estate. HMCTS set out its plan to respond to these challenges in its Recovery Plan. Maximising the use of the existing court and tribunal estate (for example by introducing plexiglass screens into courtrooms and jury suites and considering innovative solutions around adopting different operating hours), as well as increasing that capacity through new Nightingale Courts, is helping HMCTS to list as many physical hearings as possible, but all managed against the framework of Covid-secure controls in place.Decisions about the listing and management of hearings are ultimately for the judiciary. In terms of process, participants or representatives are asked to tell the court or tribunal if they need support or cannot participate effectively in a hearing within in any jurisdiction. The Judge can then either change the method of the hearing or reasonable adjustments will be made, wherever possible, to ensure users can participate.HMCTS has published, and regularly updates, a full suite of information on its Covid-secure practices. Weekly updates are now sent direct to a range of key stakeholders, social media tools are routinely used to try to reach ever-wider audiences, and in all court and tribunal venues, clear signage is displayed to promote and explain our safety measures.

Courts: Hearing Impairment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the Judicial Office and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service assess the needs of hearing impaired users to fully participate in court hearings (1) in person, and (2) remotely, including any advice and guidance provided to the judiciary and court staff.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: We are committed to ensuring that both physical and remote court hearings are accessible to all our users and that users with hearing loss (of any degree) can fully participate in those hearings.HMCTS will provide reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with all disabilities (including people with hearing loss) and takes steps to avoid treating people less favourably because of their disability. Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch before any type of hearing to discuss the particular adjustments they may need, to enable individual needs to be met. There are a range of adjustments that can be provided for users with hearing loss, including the provision of auxiliary aids such as hearing enhancement systems, sign language interpreters, or additional support such as regular breaks in a hearing.Reasonable adjustment guidance and learning and broader disability guidance is provided to all HMCTS staff for in person hearing and remote hearing. All guidance raises awareness of the issues people with hearing loss may face, and the reasonable adjustments which may help them to fully participate in hearings.The Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. Training responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College.The Judicial College ensures training promotes equal treatment by weaving equality issues and case studies into training material, and by providing access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), and learning materials which provide explicit guidance on working with diverse individuals such as those who are hard of hearing.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Iraq: Migrant Camps

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to discuss the proposed closure of camps for displaced people in seven Iraqi provinces with the government of Iraq; and what assessment they have made of the impact of these closures on homelessness during (1) the winter, and (2) the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is concerned by the recent consolidation and closure of camps for internally displaced people in Iraq. The speed of these camp closures makes it very challenging to ensure people are able to return home voluntarily, safely and in a sustainable manner. These challenges are exacerbated by the winter, COVID-19, and the economic crisis.The UK is coordinating advocacy efforts with international partners to raise our concerns at the highest levels with the Government of Iraq and slow the rate of unplanned camp closures. Since 2014 the UK has provided £272 million in humanitarian support to millions of vulnerable Iraqis including shelter kits, upgrades to camps and household items. The UK is also the largest donor to the Iraq Humanitarian Fund which will respond to the most urgent needs including both shelter and COVID related support for displaced persons as they face harsh winter conditions.

Developing Countries: Females

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps theyare taking to address violence against women and girls inthe least developed countries.

Baroness Sugg: The UK is recognised as a global leader in tackling violence against women and girls in all its forms by pioneering approaches around the world that have shown reductions in violence of around 50%, proving that VAWG is preventable. We are scaling up our investments, including through the launch early next year of a new £67.5 million seven-year programme to scale up effective interventions to prevent VAWG. We are also making the biggest single investment worldwide to date by any international donor to end FGM (£50 million).We know that success in the fight against VAWG will depend on putting women's rights organisations at the heart of our response. That is why the UK has provided long-term support to women's rights organisations on the frontlines through our contribution to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. We are also delighted to have been selected to co-lead the new Generation Equality global Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence to drive more concerted, scaled-up global action.

Mozambique: Islamic State

Lord St John of Bletso: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in conjunction with international partners to address the influence of the ISIS caliphate in northern Mozambique.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is deeply concerned by the deteriorating security situation in northern Mozambique, and the increasing attacks by groups with links to Islamic extremism. On 10 November, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Africa publicly condemned the recent attacks in which over 50 people were beheaded.We are working with the Government of Mozambique to address the root drivers of conflict and instability in northern Mozambique, including through engagement with the Government of Mozambique's regional development authority in Cabo Delgado, and by providing targeted technical assistance under the framework of a Defence Memorandum of Understanding. To date, the UK has provided £14.5 million of support to internally-displaced people in northern Mozambique through the UN and its partners. We also regularly engage with our international partners, including the US, France, Portugal and South Africa, to discuss a shared approach to the situation in Cabo Delgado.

Iraq: Internally Displaced People

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of the statement by the Norwegian Refugee Council on 9 November that the government of Iraq’s decision to close displacement camps could leave more than 100,000 people homeless; and what assistance they have offered to prevent a humanitarian crisis for displaced Iraqis.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is concerned by the recent short-notice closures of displacement camps in Iraq, which has affected 26,300 people to date out of a total population of 110,000 in federal Iraq. The speed of camp closures and lack of coordination with the UN, NGOs and donors risks forcing vulnerable people to return to areas without adequate shelter, infrastructure, or services. The UK is coordinating advocacy efforts with international partners to slow the rate of unplanned camp closures.Since 2014 the UK has provided £272 million in humanitarian support to millions of vulnerable Iraqis displaced by the Daesh conflict including providing food to over 500,000 people and life saving healthcare services to 4.3 million people. The UK will continue to work with the Government of Iraq, UN and partners to ensure that the conditions for voluntary and safe returns are met.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Peat

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their new England Peat Strategy.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Government is committed, through the forthcoming England Peat Strategy, to create and deliver a new ambitious framework for peat restoration in England. The Strategy will include protection measures which, along with restoration, will reverse the decline in our peat and deliver the full suite of benefits derived from these ecosystems, including carbon storage, a haven for rare wildlife, and water regulation and provision. The Strategy will be published soon.

Home Office

Visas: Peru

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 November (HL Deb, col 1272) that the Home Office keeps the UK visa regime under review, what mechanism they have in place to ensure the Home Office regularly hears the views of other departments on the visa regime applied to Peru.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report of the Select Committee on International RelationsThe UK’s relationship with the Pacific Alliance, published on 26 June 2019, and the recommendation that "Government should seriously consider removing its short-term visa requirements for citizens of Peru and Colombia", what discussions Home Office ministers or officials have had with (1) the Trade Envoy to Peru and (2) the Trade Commissioner for Latin America, about such requirements.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Decisions on changes to the visa regime are taken following thorough consultation across government and reflect key facets of the bilateral relationship with the country concerned. These often include security, compliance, returns, and prosperity.

Vetting: EU Nationals

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish guidance to employers on the obligation to conduct right to work checks of EU nationals once thetransition period for the UK's departure from the EU has ended.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Right to work checks for EEA citizens will not change until after 30 June 2021. Until then, EEA citizens can use their passport or national identity card to evidence their right to work. Alternatively, those with status under the EU Settlement Scheme or the new points-based immigration system may evidence their right to work using the Home Office online checking service if they choose to do so.Updated advice on right to work checks after the grace period ends on 30 June 2021 will be published in due course.Further advice on employing EEA citizens in the UK can be found on GOV.UK:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employing-eu-citizens-in-the-uk

Visas: Graduates

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include the Legal Practice Course or the Bar Professional Training Course as admissible courses to attain a visa to the UK via thegraduate immigration routeafter the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU ends.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: To be eligible for the Graduate route, students must successfully complete a degree at undergraduate level or above at a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance and hold valid leave as a student when they apply for the Graduate route.Certain professional qualifications will also confer eligibility for the Graduate route. The professional qualifications conferring eligibility, are yet to be confirmed. Further details of the professional qualifications conferring eligibility for the Graduate route will be published in due course.

Visas: Business

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish updated guidance on which business activities are permitted undervisa rules after the end of the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Immigration Rules setting out what activities visitors can undertake in the UK were laid in Parliament on 22 October 2020. They will come into effect on 1 December 2020 and will apply to EU, EEA and Swiss nationals.Supplementary guidance will be available on the gov.uk website from 1 December 2020.

Migrant Workers: Visas

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have(1) to widen the scope, and (2) to extend the length, of Permitted Paid Engagement visasafter the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU has ended.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Permitted Paid Engagement visitor route currently allows professionals in several sectors to enter the UK for up to one month to undertake permitted paid engagements, where they have been invited by a UK-based organisation and without the need to apply through the sponsored work routes. Non-visa nationals can apply for entry under this route at the border. Visa nationals must apply for entry under this route before travel. The requirements in the Immigration Rules are otherwise the same for both cohorts.We will continue to keep our policy under close review as free movement ends, including through wide engagement and dialogue with stakeholders from a range of sectors.

Counter-terrorism

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the anti-terrorism measures proposed by the government of (1) France, and (2) Austria; whether they intend to introduce similar measures in the UK; and if not, why not.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: HMG already has robust counter-terrorism measures in place, which are outlined in the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST). We continuously review these policies in light of new developments. We are closely monitoring France and Austria’s responses – and have been in discussions with both governments following the attacks - and will look to learn from these examples where they are applicable to the UK context.

Asylum

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what risk assessment has been conducted on the requirement of the Home Office for asylum seekers to report in person.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Immigration Enforcement recommenced face to face reporting in July and August for limited priority cohorts. We have implemented Safe Systems of Working (SSOW) and Risk Assessments in all our Reporting Centres. We have put in place robust social distancing measures, health screening questions as you enter, face masks offered to those without, one-way systems and sanitiser stations throughout our public areas.We continue to review our current reporting arrangements in line with any new local and national COVID restrictions that are put in place. Before inviting individuals into reporting, case owners will assess cases based on the persons harm they pose to the public, their vulnerability and personal circumstances. We continue to keep in contact with the overall reporting population by telephone to update individuals on the current reporting position.An SMS text or email/letter is sent to those required to recommence reporting detailing the date and time they should report along with relevant advice on COVID. We have also updated the reporting pages of GOV.UK for those who report and their representatives. This information includes travelling safely on public transport avoiding busy transport hubs, revised opening times to avoid travel at peak times, advice on reporting alone where possible and what to do if those reporting have symptoms or are shielding.

European Arrest Warrants

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 October (HL8424), whether they intend any extradition from the UK to any EU jurisdiction after the end of transition period to be possible only with a court ruling that there is a prima facie case to answer; and if not, why not.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: There is no intention for extradition to any EU jurisdiction after the end of transition period to be made subject to a court ruling that there is a prima facie case.In the absence of an agreement on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice with the European Union, the UK’s extradition relations with EU Member States would be governed by the European Convention on Extradition 1957 and its Additional Protocols. The prima facie evidence requirement for extradition requests from States which are parties to the European Convention on Extradition was removed when the Convention came into force in the UK in May 1991. To introduce a prima facie case requirement would be incompatible with the Convention.The Government’s approach to negotiations with the EU provides for extradition arrangements which are more streamlined than the European Convention on Extradition. The Government has not sought to introduce a prima facie case requirement, as to do so would render future arrangements with the EU less effective at bringing fugitives to justice than the Convention.

Department for International Trade

USA: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of the United States’ decision to introduce restrictions on (1) Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd, (2) Hefei Bitland Information Technology Co. Ltd, (3) Hefei Meiling Co. Ltd, (4) Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories Co. Ltd, (5) Hetian Taida Apparel Co. Ltd, (6) KTK Group, Nanjing Synergy Textiles Co. Ltd, and (7) Nanchang O-Film Tech, Tanyuan Technology Co. Ltd; whether they have imposed similar restrictions; and if not, why not.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: HM Government has repeatedly condemned the egregious violations being perpetrated against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. Most recently, on 6th October, we issued a joint statement with 38 other countries at the UN General Assembly Third Committee. The United States’ Export Administration Regulations contain a list of foreign entities, including businesses, that are subject to specific license requirements (the ‘Entity List’). A license must be obtained before exporting, re-exporting or transferring (in-country) an item to a listed entity. The United Kingdom has no equivalent of the US Entity List. However, large businesses operating in the United Kingdom are required, under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, to report on how they are tackling forced labour in their operations and supply chains.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they havemade of the impact of the imposition of the UK Global Tariff on the import of finished tobacco products from 1 January 2021 on forecast levels of smuggling of (1) tobacco products, and (2) counterfeit tobacco products, into the UK.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) remains committed to promoting compliance and tackling avoidance and evasion. Guidance on how manufacturers and importers of tobacco products can avoid the facilitation of smuggling is available on https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-477-tobacco-products-duty-control-of-supply-chains. Additionally, to ensure compliance with new customs procedures and controls at the border after transition period ends, on 12 July 2020, the Government announced an investment package of £705m. Additionally, to ensure compliance with new customs procedures and controls at the border after transition period ends, the Government announced on 12 July 2020?an investment?package of?£705m for enhanced infrastructure, staffing and IT. We will publish more analysis?on the?UK?Global Tariff in?the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) alongside the legislation, as is standard practice.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Data Protection: EU Law

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations will apply to companies operating in the UK after the end of the transition period for the UK’s departure from the EU; and if so, what plans they have to inform such companies of the implications.

Baroness Barran: During the transition period (until 31 December) there is no change to the current data protection regime, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will continue to apply.At the end of the transition period, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA) will retain the GDPR in UK domestic law, while the legislation implementing the Law Enforcement Directive (LED) (Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018) will also be preserved.We have made Regulations under the EUWA to make necessary and appropriate changes to the retained legislation so that the UK’s data protection law continues to function effectively after the transition period. This will mean that the UK continues to have the same high data protection standards.The UK has legislated to allow for the free flow of personal data to continue to the EU/EEA, Gibraltar and third countries currently in receipt of EU adequacy decisions at the end of the transition period. We are also seeking EU data adequacy decisions under both the GDPR and the LED, which would allow for the continued free flow of data to the UK. However, if the UK does not have these adequacy decisions in place at the end of the transition period, organisations will need to put in place alternative transfer mechanisms to allow for the continued lawful transfer of personal data from the EU/EEA to the UK.Guidance can be found on GOV.UK and the ICO website regarding steps organisations may be required to take relating to data protection and data flows by the end of the transition period.

Tourism: Coronavirus

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review their decision not to provide financial support to inbound tour operators; what discussions they have had with representatives of the inbound tourism sector regarding the reduction in their business arising from the COVID-19 pandemic; and what they estimate the impact of that business reduction to be on employment in (1) the inbound tourism sector, and (2) popular tourist destinations in the UK.

Baroness Barran: We are aware that the travel sector has been severely impacted by Government measures to control the spread of Covid-19, and that these are extremely difficult conditions for inbound tour operators as well as popular tourist destinations in the UK.Inbound tour operators can access a range of Government support measures, including the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes, as well as various government-backed loans. Further to this, the Additional Restrictions Grant discretionary fund will allow Local Authorities to help businesses more broadly during this period. It supports businesses that are not covered by other grant schemes, such as the Local Restrictions Support Grant, or where additional funding is needed.While my Department has made no specific estimate of the impact on employment within these two parts of the sector, the Minister for Tourism is in regular contact with stakeholders, such as UKInbound, to closely monitor the impact on inbound tourism.On 24 November, the Global Travel Taskforce report outlined 14 steps that the Government could take to enable the safe and sustainable recovery of international travel. Following the report’s publication, the Transport Secretary announced a new ‘Test to Release’ system for international arrivals from countries that are not on the Travel Corridor list, which will be launched on 15 December.We are continuing to engage across Government and with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the recovery of tourism across the UK.

Fairgrounds: Coronavirus

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing for (1) travelling fairgrounds, and (2) charter fairs, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baroness Barran: Government has introduced a number of support measures to support the tourism and outdoor events sector through COVID-19, which travelling fairground businesses can access. Support includes various government-backed loans, as well as the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes. We also introduced a substantial, UK-wide cut in VAT for many tourism and hospitality activities, including admission to circuses and fairs, until the end of March.Further to this, the Additional Restrictions Grant discretionary fund will allow Local Authorities to help businesses more broadly during this period. It supports businesses that are not covered by other grant schemes, such as the Local Restrictions Support Grant, or where additional funding is needed.We recognise that Covid-19 has significantly impacted the culture sector and that these are extremely difficult times for organisations such as travelling fairgrounds. We continue to meet with representatives of the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain to assess how we can most effectively support the industry through this period.

Charities: Coronavirus

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Charity Finance Group’s proposal to allow charities to furlough staff and enable them to volunteer at their own organisation, to help charities to mobilise during the winter period.

Baroness Barran: The Government remains committed to supporting charitable organisations and enterprises across the country. In March, the Government announced the unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), designed to help employers to keep millions of people in employment. The CJRS was set to close on 31 October 2020 but, in light of the path of the virus, the CJRS has now been extended until the end of March 2021. A furloughed employee can volunteer for another employer or organisation subject to public health guidance and agreement from their employer. However, employees are not permitted to volunteer for their own employer or an organisation linked or associated to their employer where the volunteering either makes money for, or provides services to, their employer or such an organisation. This is to prevent fraudulent claims and to protect individuals. If the Government allowed workers to volunteer for their employer or a linked organisation, the employer could ask them to effectively work full-time whilst only paying them 80% of their wages. As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to supporting charitable organisations and social enterprises, the Spending Review confirmed a £750m support package for charities supporting vulnerable people during the COVID-19 crisis. The Government also matched public donations to the BBC’s “Big Night In” charity appeal, with over £37 million being distributed by Comic Relief, Children In Need and the National Emergencies Trust to charities on the frontline.

Music: Coronavirus

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether outdoor congregational carol singing will be permitted as part of their COVID-19 Winter Plan.

Baroness Barran: Carol singing can take place if all attendees comply with the latest guidance for the Christmas period as published here.

Self-employed: Coronavirus

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Barran on 9 November (HL Deb, col 808), what proportion of the £119 million of funding available through Arts Council England has been paid directly to individual freelance workers; andwhat is the breakdown of payments by (1) art form, and (2) category of freelance worker.

Baroness Barran: Of the £119m available through Arts Council England as part of their Covid emergency support, over £26m has been distributed to individuals, including freelance workers, and organisations via the Emergency Relief Fund and Project Grants Funding (as of 5 November 2020).Within the £26m, £17m has been distributed to individuals via ACE’s Emergency Response Fund (now closed) and c.£9m has so far been distributed to both organisations and individuals via Project Grants (out of a total of c.£80m available until April 2021).In addition to the two Funds above, the £119m also includes the following:£6 million distributed by a series of Benevolent Funds focused on self employed individuals; and£18 million available through their Developing Your Creative Practice FundThe split by art form and category of freelance worker will be made available in due course.

Pornography: Internet

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Barran (HL10058) from 11 November, on what basis they propose to use age assurance as opposed to age verification to prevent children accessing online pornography; what is the difference between the two measures; and what assurance they can give that they are equally effective.

Baroness Barran: Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda, and wider government priorities. Our Online Harms proposals will deliver a higher level of protection for children than for the typical adult user. Age assurance is the term used to describe the broad range of technical measures that can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. Age verification is a form of age assurance that provides the highest level of confidence in a user’s age. Currently age verification measures require a user's age to be established through a full identity verification process, for example through passport or credit card data.. We expect companies to use a proportionate range of tools, including both age assurance and age verification technologies, to prevent children accessing age-inappropriate content such as online pornography and to protect them from other harms.We will be setting out further details on our approach for protecting children, including the use of age assurance, in the full government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, which will be published this year. We will follow this with legislation, which will be ready early next year.